Union, NJ – On Day One of the Kean Tournament Friday, The State University of New York New Paltz split its two matches against Swarthmore and Mount Saint Vincent.

The Hawks were swept by the Garnets in their opening match, (18-25, 16-25, 22-25), but bounced back for game two and beat the Dolphins in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-18).

In the first set against Swarthmore, SUNY New Paltz was down 3-0, before going on a four-point streak to take the lead from the Garnets,. The Hawks continued to direct the tempo of the game, even leading 11-6 at one time. However, Swarthmore began to chip away at the deficit and tied up with SUNY New Paltz at the 16th point mark. The Garnets took the lead the following point and did not let up for seven straight points. The run was too much for the Hawks to come back from, and Swarthmore took the first set, 25-18.

The second set was all the Garnets, as five three-or-more point runs did not let SUNY New Paltz take the lead once in the set. Swarthmore out-hit the Hawks 13-5 in the second, a drastic difference compared to the first set's 11-11 kill count. Scoring four straight points to close out the set, the Garnets won the second, 25-16.

The Hawks tried to rally for the third set and even took the lead away from Swarthmore at 13-12 after having trailed the Garnets for the first portion of the set. Three attack errors in a row extended SUNY New Paltz's lead to 18-15, which soon after increased to 20-17. Unfortunately, in the last points of the match, Swarthmore went on a four-point run to cease the Hawks' comeback chances and closed the game in three sets.

Jamie Albrecht led the squad in kills (9) and aces (3). Lexi Stragalas and Letisha Perez followed offensively, with six and five kills each, respectively. Freshmen Elena Savage and Jordyn Lewis both had an impact on the court, as Savage assisted on 21 plays and Lewis secured eight digs. 

In a quick turnaround, the Hawks were set to face CMSV not even an hour after the Swarthmore match concluded, but they did not skip a beat. 

The Dolphins got out to an early lead, but SUNY New Paltz kept the score tight moving forward and did not allow the Dolphins get more than three points ahead. To take their first lead of the game, Albrecht assisted Savage for a kill, which put the Hawks up 17-16 just over midway through the set. 

Savage returned the favor and assisted the next three points for the Hawks until they led 20-18. The Dolphins tied the score at the 22nd point, but SUNY New Paltz pushed through and went on a three-point rip, capped off by a service ace from Kim Braun to take set one, 25-22.

The second set was an offensive tear for the Hawks, as they led CMSV in nearly every statistical category, most impressively being kills in which SUNY New Paltz had 13 compared to the Dolphins' three. The Hawks secured the lead after Perez blocked a CMSV kill to get SUNY New Paltz in front 5-4. The rest of the set, the Hawks did not step off the gas pedal, and led the Dolphins the entire time. By the finish of the second, the Hawks ousted CMSV 25-15.

Stragalas got the opening kill in the third, followed by a hit from fellow sophomore Lola Konopa to put the Hawks up two points before an ace from Savage extended the lead to three. Slowly, the Dolphins tried to fight back, and an attack error gave a point that tied them to the Hawks at 6-6. However, SUNY New Paltz pulled away for the following few points, before CMSV tied it up again and took the lead in the following point, 16-15. 

Stragalas got the Hawks out of the draw with three straight kills, followed by Regan Moeykens who tacked another point on. SUNY New Paltz pulled away and earned the last four of five points of the set, while Lewis aced two serves in a row to close the third set, as well as the match. The Hawks came out of the third with a dominating 25-18 set win, and a total sweep of the Dolphins.

Albrecht had a day in game two, as the senior secured 11 kills, four digs, three assists, and an ace. Stragalas followed with nine kills and an assist, while Moeykens and Konopa put up six kills a piece. Perez was a presence at the net, as she secured 2.5 total blocks in the match, and added on offensively with four kills. 

The Hawks remain in Union, NJ for Day Two of the Kean Tournament, as they will face off against host Kean University Saturday at noon followed by Centenary University at 2 p.m., the latter being SUNY New Paltz's fourth match of the weekend. 

******************

To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.